Doctor and Companion, Plus One
by Smittenbymarvel
Summary: The Doctor and Rose meet an unexpected person that will change their lives forever. Wouldn't you be surprised to meet your child before she was born?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The Doctor swung underneath one of the gentle, sloping beams of the Tardis and came face to face with blonde haired Rose Tyler.

"Ah, Rose Tyler, I do like you," he said, a smile tugging at the sides of his mouth as he leaned his weight forward, hand gripping the beam. His big eyes searched hers and the two stood locked in a gaze for a moment. He chuckled, admiring her beautiful eyes, "Fancy a trip to Monkif?"

"Monkif?" smiled Rose, leaning in closer to the Doctor, her hands resting on the knees of her jeans. "And where in the whole, wide Universe is Monkif?"

"Ah, well," said the Doctor, stepping back dramatically so his trench coat blew back a bit, "bit closer to Rizexanof then Tamoroo is. Kind of between Montoof and Lanzar. They have great hot dogs there."

"Hot dogs?" giggled Rose, stepping around the beam and closer to the controls of the Tardis, where the Doctor was already flipping switches and turning knobs at a rapid pace. "They have hotdogs somewhere other than earth?"

"Wha…Of course they do!" cried the Doctor, almost offended that Rose wouldn't know such a trivial bit of information. He shot her a confused look, "For goodness sakes, Rose, earth isn't the only place with good lunch food. Grab hold!"

Rose grabbed a handle near the controls just as the Tardis began to shake and bounce, a normal and expected side effect of time travel. She and the Doctor were thrown back simultaneously, and then the Tardis came to a stand still.

"Aha!" cried the Doctor, jumped to his feet, his Converse sneakers making a hard, stomping sound against the deck around the controls. "Welcome to Monkif, Rose! And it's just time for lunch, too! Hot dog?"

Rose laughed, scrambling to her feet, and took the Doctor's hand, "Hot dog."

" _Allons-y_!" shouted the Doctor as he pulled Rose down the ramp, out the door of the blue police box, and into a bright, colorful new world.

The street that lay before them was wide, busy, and extremely loud. Everywhere there were people calling to each other, laughing, shouting, singing, playing, dancing, working. Everyone wore brilliant, joyful colors, and the sight of black was nowhere in sight save for Rose's jacket. The people looked awfully similar to humans, except for their unusually large heads.

"Not bigger brains," said the Doctor, as he and Rose began down the street, "its just that they have big heads. Their brains are actually smaller then ours, and because of that, it hasn't left any room for them to be sad or angry. Just happy all the time. Rather exciting, actually. Look!" He pointed to a young girl bounding down the street on a pogo stick. It had to have been twenty feet high, and was sending the girl ridiculously high into the air. A long table had been set up down the middle of the street and was decorated with streamers and balloons. Plates of food filled the table from one end to the other, and many people were sitting and eating while others raced about chasing each other and laughing. It reminded Rose very much of a carnival back on earth. Two more pogo sticks bounced by, these two holding teenaged boys.

"Well," laughed Rose, "how about those hot dogs?"

"Hot dogs!" shouted the Doctor. He grabbed Rose's hand and tore off down the street, practically dragging her along behind her. They zigzagged in and out of the massive, colorful array of people, passing no less then six women playing an instrument the Doctor called a timbo, eighteen children joyfully waxing long pogo sticks, and eleven Monkif dogs; exactly like earth dogs, but with bigger heads.

"This is called Holiday Street!" shouted the Doctor above the noise as he pulled Rose along at a steady pace. "They are always celebrating like this here! Other parts of Monkif are much more laid back. Still as happy! But not as loud!"

"How big is this planet?" shouted Rose, skipping a bit as she almost tripped over an abandoned pogo stick.

"Oh, about the size of France!" replied the Doctor, dodging around a man juggling what looked like brightly colored balls of popcorn. "But they can hold their own and nobody wants to attack them! They're too happy to attack! People who try just get frustrated and end up happy, too. Only ones that could possibly do any harm would be Daleks, but they tried once and the Monkif's just put up their shields!"

"What shields!" shouted Rose, relieved to see the end of the street up ahead, as well as the people beginning to diminish into smaller and quieter groups.

"Protection shields around the whole planet," grinned the Doctor, slowing down. He jogged to a stop and caught Rose as she bent over to catch her breath. They both laughed and dropped onto a nearby bench to breathe for a moment.

"That was insane!" laughed Rose, slouching down on the bench and kicking her feet out so her legs were straight. "I've never seen such loud, happy people!"

"They certainly grow on you," giggled the Doctor, imitating Rose's posture. "Glad we got through there as fast as we did. They might have tried to feed us collard greens."

Rose turned her head to see the Doctor and scrunched her face up, "What?"

"Collard greens," he responded, turning to see her, as well. "They love 'em here. Even eat them on their hot dogs."

Rose laughed out loud and stood up, having regained control of her breath. "Well, then," she giggled, "lunch?"

The Doctor leapt up beside her and flashed a huge grin, "Lunch! I know a fine little restaurant! Called The Happy Inn. Just around the corner. Come on!" And then they were running again, away from Holiday Street and into a quieter section of the ever colorful town.

"Are you the Doctor?"

The Doctor spun around, hands in the pockets of his trench coat, and smiled down at the little Monkif before him. "I am at that," he said. "And who are you?"

"Eso," replied the child, a cute smile spreading across her large head. "You are to come with me. It's okay, come along!" Eso turned and began to skip away, her blonde curls bouncing behind her.

"Oh! Hold on, hold on, hold on!" cried the Doctor, hurrying forward and grabbing Eso's shoulders. "Come with you where then, little missy?"

"To see the girl," smiled Eso. She spun around again and started her skipping, humming a little tune to herself and she went along.

The Doctor and Rose cast confused look at each other and then back at little Eso. "Girl?" said the Doctor, "what girl? Hey, Eso! Hang on!" He and Rose ran to catch up to the little on and the Doctor took Eso's arm, "I say, Eso, what girl is this that you're talking about?"

"The girl!" smiled Eso. "I have been following you since you came out of the blue box. You must come see the girl! You must!" Again, Eso turned and skipped away, smiling happily.

"What is she talking about, Doctor?" asked Rose. "How does she know who you are?"

"Well, maybe I've been here before," said the Doctor. "That's the bloody thing about time, you never really know where you've been and what you've done, because you might not have done it, yet."

"What?" asked Rose, but the Doctor was already jogging after Eso. "Doctor!" snapped Rose, exasperated by him ignoring her.

It didn't take long for Eso to bring them to a halt in front of a large, brightly painted house. The street they were on resembled something of a small, quiet street back in England, except all the houses were painted obnoxiously bright colors and the trees had leaves of blue, pink, and lime green. The house Eso had stopped by was a swirled mix of purple and white.

"Here is the girl!" giggled Eso. "Good bye! Good bye!" And with that, she turned and ran away, still humming her happy tune.

"Good bye, Eso!" called the Doctor. "Um, thank you, I suppose? Come along, Rose, let's see what this girl thing is all about, shall we?"

"Is it safe?" asked Rose, taking a wary step back on the dirt road. "Suppose she was paid to bring us here? What if something is waiting in there to kill us…a Dalek maybe!"

"Rose, please," said the Doctor, giving her a sarcastically, exasperated look. "The house is painted purple and the garden is blue, I don't think anything in there is going to kill us, oi?"

"You have no imagination," said Rose, crossing her arms, "I was trying to make it fun."

"Alright, there's a Dalek in there. Let's go kill it," said the Doctor, rolling his eyes, and giving Rose a slight push so she'd start towards the house. He ran up ahead of her on the walk and landed three, solid knocks against the royal blue door. They hadn't waited a second before it was flung open to reveal a woman, head quite large, standing before them.

 **...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Hello!" she cried. "Oh, Filo, it's the Doctor! The Doctor is here! Oh, praise be! The Doctor!

"Hello, there," grinned the Doctor. "How do you do? We're at a bit of a disadvantage, see, cause I don't know your name but you know mine."

"My name is Aro," said the woman, smiling broadly. "Do come in, Doctor! And your friend as well. Welcome! Welcome! Wait until you see the girl!"

The Doctor smiled mischievously at Rose and stepped inside, Rose warily following. Aro ran off, calling for Filo, and Rose and the Doctor looked around. The inside was just as obnoxiously colored as the outside, with even more bright, swirled colors and ridiculous decorations including pink feathers, giant glass balls hanging from the ceiling and looped frames attached to the wall in no particular manor.

"Does everyone here have a name ending in O?" asked Rose.

"Yep," replied the Doctor, hands in the pockets of his trench coat, turning around to take in the strange, oddly shaped architecture of the home. "Didn't I mention that? Hence Eso, Aro, Filo…all O's. Except for this one Monkif I knew once named Tr. It was supposed to be Tro but when he was born his father forgot to put the O on the end of the birth certificate so it was just Tr. The poor guy had the hardest time doing anything on Monkif because everyone thought he was kidding about his name all the time."

"Why didn't he just say it was Tro so people would call him that?" asked Rose. "People called me Rosie even though its Rose."

"Can't lie on Monkif," said the Doctor, turning and dropping down onto one of the bottom steps of the staircase leading to an apparent second floor. "They don't know how."

"So that's why you followed Eso without worrying?" asked Rose, taking a cautious step forward, still looking around the room.

"Say, what's the matter with you?" asked the Doctor. "You normally aren't so unnerved."

"Didn't sleep well last night," shrugged Rose. She knew he was right. She never acted this nervous and jumpy, and she'd been through a lot scarier times then this. She was standing in the middle of a brightly painted, happy house. What was to be scared of? But she had a strange feeling about the house. About the whole planet, in fact.

"Ah, Mr. Filo, I presume!" grinned the Doctor, jumping up to greet a big headed man that had just entered the foyer.

"How do you do, Doctor," smiled the man, anxiously shaking the Doctor's hand. "We've waited so long! Since I was just a young man! Come! Come, Doctor!"

The Doctor cast a wide grin at Rose and jerked his head for her to follow. She shrugged off her nerves and stepped through the doorway with him into a living room - dining room area.

"Please, excuse the mess," smiled Aro, hurrying about to scoop up papers and towels scattered here and there. "We weren't expecting company!"

"Ah, that's alright you should see Rose's house at any given time," said the Doctor, hands back in his coat pockets.

"Hey!" snapped Rose, giving him a smart rap on the shoulder. "Not funny."

"Your mum could be a bit of a better house keeper," he mumbled.

"Yes, I'm laughing so hard," said Rose, sarcastically, but a small smile pulled at her lips.

"The girl!" Filo suddenly announced, holding his arms out towards an open door leading to a back garden.

The Doctor and Rose spun to face it and see who it was everyone was so worked up about. A young, pretty girl stepped inside the room. Rose lifted an eyebrow at the child's normal head. Both of the Doctor's hearts almost stopped.

"Time Lord," he gasped.

...

"Doctor! Doctor!" Rose slapped the man's cheek with medium force, trying to arouse the unconscious Doctor. "Doctor! Wake up!"

"Ah!" the Doctor sat up with a jolt, his eyes wide and breath coming in heavy lifts of his chest. "Rose!"

"I'm right here," she assured, hurrying to crouch before him so he could see her face. "I'm right here!"

"Rose, I'm having the strangest dream," said the Doctor, eyes still large, his hair mussed slightly more than usual. "I'm dreaming I'm in a little house on Monkif and there is another Time Lord here. Isn't that strange, Rose? Tell me that's strange. Tell me it's a funny dream."

"It's a funny dream," responded Rose, nodding her head and clasping the Doctor's left hand between both of hers.

The Doctor looked at her and sighed, "Its not a dream. I'm awake. There is a Time Lord sitting in the chair across the room from me, isn't there?"

Rose searched the Doctor's eyes and found nothing but a closed door to explain his feelings. She nodded slightly, "Well, if you think she really is a Time Lord…then, yes."

The Doctor stared intently at Rose for a few more seconds, then turned, sliding his feet off of the sofa he'd been rested on, to face the young girl.  
She couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen-years-old, but as a Time Lord, who knew how old she really was. Her hair was dark and curly and fell down around her shoulders. Her eyes were brown and her skin an olive tone. A single dimple rested in her right cheek.

"Oh, good heavens," sighed the Doctor, his body going slightly limp as he stared at the girl.

"Doctor, what is it?" asked Rose, scrambling to her feet and sitting beside him on the sofa.

Nobody said anything. Rose stared at the Doctor; the Doctor stared at the girl; the girl's dark eyes looked emotionless back at the Doctor.

The Doctor sighed, "What….what was your mother's name, child?"

The girl was silent. She sat motionless, hands resting on the arms of the chair, head leaned forward slightly, eyes fixed on the Doctor. She blinked.

"Rose," she replied. "Her name was Rose."

The air in the room grew thick. Again, they all three fell silent. Rose's stare had switched from the Doctor to the girl. Her hands dropped from the Doctor's arm, her mouth slightly open is shock. "What…what did you say?" she asked, tilting her head.

"My mother's name was Rose," said the girl, her accent quite American.

"And….do you remember your mother?" asked the Doctor. "At all?"

"Yes," nodded the girl. "That's her." She pointed at Rose. "That's my mother."

"Me?" exclaimed Rose. "N…no…that can't be right. I'm not your mother. I'm not a mother! I can't be a mother! No!"

"Rose," said the Doctor.

"I'm not a mother!" cried Rose. "Doctor, tell her!"

"Rose," repeated the Doctor.

"She doesn't even look like me!" snapped Rose, on her feet now, yelling down at the Doctor, who hadn't removed his gaze from the girl.

"Rose," he said again.

"What!" cried Rose.

"She has your eyes," said the Doctor. A slight smile played at his lips as he looked at the girl. "And she has my temperament if ever I saw it."

"What," said Rose, tears welling up in her eyes. She slowly lowered herself down beside the Doctor, looking quite in shock. "Your….your temperament? Doctor…you're saying she's our daughter?"

"Yes," said the Doctor. "Time is a riddle, Rose. And it has played out a guessing game for us. We obviously go back in time sometime in the future and have a baby - probably here in Monkif - and then something happens and we loose her. And now, here we are. And here she is. Our child. Part human, part Time Lord. All ours."

"I'm not born yet," said the girl, in more of a statement than a question.

"No," said the Doctor. "Not yet. Not relatively."

"What!" shrieked Rose, who in approximately three seconds had gone from shocked to hysterical. She began sobbing uncontrollably, falling against the Doctor's chest and clinging to him as tightly as possible. He held her close, but his stare had never once unlocked with the girl's. It was as if a sort of connection were holding them together. Time Lord to Time Lord.

"What can you tell me about the past few years?" asked the Doctor.

"I can tell you what the Caro's have told me," said the girl.

"The Caro's are the family that own this house?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes," nodded the girl. "I've lived with them my whole life. When I was a baby, there was a war here on Monkif. A war with the Daleks."

"The Daleks!" exclaimed the Doctor. "But that's impossible; they are all gone! And you have shields up."

"There was a war with the Daleks," repeated a girl, a bit harshly, as if upset the Doctor would question her.

"A war that hasn't happened, yet," said the Doctor, raising an eyebrow, his breathing heavy from the realization the Daleks were not quite as extinct as he thought.

"According to your timeline, no," said the girl. "It hasn't happened, yet. During the war, our house was bombed. Our house. You…her…me. You know our shields from the future. We didn't have them when I was a baby. I was presumed dead, but the Caro's rescued me. The sky was always dark with ash and all forms of communication were gone. The Caro's tried to find you, but it was impossible. Three days later, the Tardis disappeared, and with it, you and her." The girl nodded to Rose. "So the Caro's brought me up, hoping one day you would return. The Dalek's left and the Monkif people created a time lock big enough to surround the planet to ward off further attacks. Having a small planet has its advantages. You got through it, I suppose, because the elders decided to take it down to send out surveillance ships."

A strange play of emotions swept the Doctor's face, and Rose, leaning against his chest, could have sworn she heard him whisper, "They've taken my family again" but he quickly pushed out his chest and nodded. "And here I am," said the Doctor, his face now emotionless. "And here you are. And here is Rose."

"Yes," said the girl. "Here we are."

No one seemed to have noticed that Rose had stopped crying, and had heard most of the story. Tears still streamed down her face, but she had controlled her sobs. She sniffed, sitting up from the Doctor's chest, and wiped at her wet face, "What…what's your name?"

The girl smiled for the first time since meeting her parents, "Joy. You named me Joy."

The Doctor laughed, a strange, hiccup, sort of a laugh and stood up, crossing the room in two strides, and pulled Joy up from the chair and into his arms. Rose raced across the room and joined them, and suddenly, all three were crying and holding tightly to each other. A family; the Time Lord, the human, and their child, together for the first time in history.

...

"I wonder if she has two hearts?" mused the Doctor, sitting down on the guestroom bed beside Rose. The room, like the rest of the house, was brilliantly painted and sported odd, large decorations on the walls and around the floor. The bed was quite large, plenty of space for both Rose and the Doctor, and had many bright blue pillows scattered across it. "Either way I'm glad she doesn't look like me. Imagine a girl looking like me," said the Doctor, his eyebrow dipping down in a frown.

"She doesn't look like me, either," said Rose. They sat beside each other on the bed in silence, Rose's head tipped down, resting on the Doctor's shoulder. Each had their mind spinning with the events of the day; the afternoon had consisted of talking with Joy and the Caro's, supper, more talk, and finally an exhaustive retirement on everyone's part. Joy had seemed quite at ease with the whole ordeal, as if she'd waited her whole life for it to happen, and now she was pleasantly glad it had.

The ticking clock across the room caught the Doctor's attention and he glanced at it, watching the second hand move orderly down the Monkif symbols for time. He stared at it, remembering Joy's comment "I'm not born, yet". She had his mind, that was for sure.

"Why, Doctor?" said Rose suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Mm? Mm, why what?" asked the Doctor, his gaze still fixed on the clock.

"Why doesn't she look like us?" asked Rose.

"Oh, I don't know," shrugged the Doctor. "Maybe she looks like one of your great-aunts or something."

"Oh, come on," said Rose, standing up in a bit of a huff and spinning to face the man. "She really doesn't look anything like us. You said she has my eyes, but she really doesn't. They're just the same color. Not much of a likeness in that."

The Doctor shrugged and stood up, shrugging off his sport coat and letting it drop on a nearby armchair. "Maybe she regenerated," he said.

They both stopped.

Rose took a shaky breath, "Regenerated? Wouldn't she have been close to death to do that?"

The Doctor looked blankly at Rose, his head tilted slightly, "I…Rose, we don't know that that's the case. As I said before, maybe one of your great-aunts…"

"No, you just suggested it, don't brush it off!" snapped Rose. "You said maybe she regenerated. And if that's the case, and Monkif has been peaceful since the Dalek's left, then she was almost killed when we lost her all those years ago, and that poor, little baby went through a regeneration process. Doctor, that's horrible! Imagine what that must have been like for a tiny, unknowing child!" Rose had tears spilling down her cheeks and her fists were clenched tightly at her side. She was staring the Doctor down, her eyes filled with sorrow at the thought of her baby going through such a thing.

"Rose," said the Doctor, taking a step towards her, "we have no idea if that's true. You're jumping to conclusions. Now, I won't shoot down the idea, because it could have happened. Of course, it could have. For all I know, I regenerated as a baby. We do have a bit of control over regeneration, though, but only once we figure out what it is. The first time is always a little shaky, so she could have easily regenerated into an older child. Since she didn't, chances are it never happened. Who knows? But what I do know, is that she is safe and sound now, and she is ours, and we have a lot of things to talk about and think through tomorrow. And we should get some rest."

Rest. Rose had forgotten how tired she was, and the mention of rest seemed to sweep the emotion right out of her. She hung her head, a small sob catching in her throat, and the Doctor went to her side, helping her over to the bed. Moments later, the two of them were nestled together under the covers, the Doctor's strong arms around Rose's body, holding her close and assuring her it would be alright. And for a few quiet moments before she slipped into much needed sleep, Rose was at peace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next part! Sorry about the awkward way the paragraphs uploaded last time. I think I fixed it, though. Not sure what that was all about. Anyway...if you guys ever notice something wrong in the story let me know! I get the timelines and rewriting of time mixed up in my brain sometimes, so if I ever contradict myself or mess up a time feel free to tell me!**

 **Thanks a million to those who reviewed! You're all so awesome!**

¨

*TWELVE YEARS PRIOR; NINE MONTHS LATER FOR THE DOCTOR AND ROSE*

"Rose! Rose!" the Doctor stumbled through ash and concrete, searching for his love. "Rose Tyler!"

"Here! Doctor, here!" the terror in Rose's voice was evident; more than evident, it was conceivable. Monkif was being destroyed.

Dalek ships flew in swarms overhead, exterminating anything and everything they could get into their sights. Houses were smashed to pieces; others were burning with such force, they were catching nearby houses on fire as well; some were merely non-existent, evaporated by the extremity of the Dalek explosives.

Natives were in a panic. They raced about in a desperate attempt to find cover. Some screamed; others cried; most just stared glassy-eyed at the horrid group of ships above them. In their perfect, joyful life, the Monkif had never once imagined something so terrible would happen. Their small brains were working furiously to accept this new emotion cursing through their veins: fear.

"Rose!" the Doctor stumbled down a war-created hill of rubble and dust and slid to a stop beside Rose. She was huddled beside a fallen tree, shoulders hunched, knees drawn up, protecting the tiny form in her arms.

"What do we do?" she asked, her eyes burning with a mixture of fear and anger. The Doctor had seen that look before. Rose meant business when she gave that look. He had seen it when she had tried to save her father's life a few years before. "Time can be rewritten," hissed Rose. "You said so yourself. Joy will not be left here! I won't do that to my baby!"

"Rose, listen to me," said the Doctor, grabbing her shoulders and holding tightly. His eyes were wide and his breath coming in heavy gasps after his long run from the middle of town. "Rose, I will do everything in my power to save our baby. You know that better than I do. We need to get you and Joy into the Tardis, but that will take some time. The Tardis was buried in an explosion and I'll need to get some help to dig it out. Until then, you need to get to the Capitol Building and stay in the basement. All the women and children are there; it's the safest place right now."

Rose's mind spun with questions. She stared at the Doctor in confusion, "But you! What will happen to you! Doctor, you'll be killed out in the open!"

"No, I won't," said the Doctor taking the tiny, newborn baby from Rose. "That would be too much rewriting of time for one day. This baby is already younger then she should be. A lot is going to have to change today to keep her alive."

"Doctor!" cried Rose, scrambling to her feet beside the man.

The Doctor blushed. He was being terribly blunt about Joy again. He found he did that far too easily around Rose. He didn't mean anything against the baby, of course. This child was his pride and joy! If anything were to happen to this sweet little girl…he wasn't quite sure what he would do. But now was not a time to use flowery language. Their lives were at stake every second they were in the open, and he was not willing to risk the life of his darling Rose and beautiful Joy for a few sugar-coated words.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said. "You know how I feel about Joy. You know I would die to keep her safe. You know very well I would do the same for you. So I need you to trust me."

"I do know all of that," said Rose, stepping close so she could place one hand on her baby's head, and the other on the Doctor's cheek. "And that is why I am so scared that you will die. You won't consider your own safety."

"Rose Tyler, I'm the Doctor," smiled the tall man, "and no Dalek will ever defeat me. Now…to the Capitol. Quickly! Allons-y!"

...

Rose and the Doctor had been on Monkif for nine months now. Nine months since they left their teenage daughter and went back in time so she could be born. Nine months since Rose had become pregnant and the Doctor had built them a home…a home constructed completely around the Tardis. Nine months in which the couple had established a bit of a normal life. They had even hung a little sign up on their front door that said Doctor and Rose Plus One.

Rose had refused to risk harm to the baby by traveling during her pregnancy, so the Doctor had agreed to assume the life of a family man on Monkif while Rose carried their little girl. It had been hard at first…finding a job at the Capitol Building…going to work everyday….carrying a man purse (though Rose insisted it was a briefcase)…but every time the Doctor came home and saw Rose, stomach growing larger and larger, he knew it was all worth it. And he couldn't wait to become a father!

Then, when Rose was only eight months along, complications arose and the baby came a month early. Labor was hard for mother and child, but in the end, Rose was resting comfortably and the Doctor sat beside her bed, holding the little baby in his arms, marveling at the greatest wonder the universe had thus produced to him: his precious daughter. And in those moments of bubbling happiness and pride, the Doctor named his little girl the only name that made sense: Joy.

During her pregnancy, Rose had asked the Doctor about his children. Only once had he mentioned the family he had lost on Gallifrey, hundreds of years before. Rose had been scared that this baby would hold distaste in the Doctor's eyes, as she would not be a full-blood Gallifreyan. It was then that the Doctor told Rose the story of his marriage to a Gallifreyan woman who had three children of her own. He had adopted them and called them his, but by blood they had no relation. Joy was his first child that shared his genes and blood. The first child that would inherit the sarcasm and wit and genius of the man the Universe called the Doctor.

And when the Doctor first held the tiny baby, and placed his hand over her chest, feeling the soft beat of the twin hearts, it had been all he could do to keep from bursting with pride.

...

"Wait in the basement!" shouted the Doctor, handing Joy back to Rose and running in the general direction of their home. "I'll get the Tardis, don't worry!"

"Don't do anything stupid!" shouted Rose, silent tears sliding down both cheeks. She cradled Joy carefully in her arms, staring after the man her world revolved around. It was quite possibly the last time she'd ever see that brown suit, the Converse sneakers, and the old, story-filled eyes of the Time Lord.

"Come along!"

Rose felt a hand on her arm and turned to see her good friend Myo.

"To the basement, Rose!" Myo ushered Rose through the Capitol Building, the two women crying out every time an explosion rocked the ground, sending dust and bits of concrete tumbling from the ceiling.

They reached the basement and hurried down to join the other women and children, huddled in dark corners and against the cold walls. Many mothers clutched their young close to them, eyes closed, whispering silent prayers for deliverance. Babies cried and toddlers whimpered. The older children sat wide eyed in a group, clutching their knees to their chests and jumping at every explosion from the war-torn world above.

Rose held Joy tightly, tears flooding down her cheeks. She was a mother now. A real, honest to goodness mother. She thought of her own mother and what she might be doing right now. Jackie Tyler was probably bustling about the kitchen, cooking some sort of tasty treat for her newest boyfriend. Or she might be out shopping for some new shoes. Whatever it was, Jackie was probably completely unaware of her daughter's current predicament…or the fact that she was now a grandmother. Earth. How quiet and peaceful earth seemed compared to the burning planet Rose now sat on. For a split second rage flooded her veins as she thought of all that had transpired to bring her here. Then she heard Joy's soft cries and the rage surged away, quickly replaced by hope. The Doctor was out there. And he was going to save them.

¨¨¨

The Doctor slammed his shovel blade back into the sliding dirt and thrust it upward, showering debris all around him.

"Faster!" he shouted. "We're gaining!"

The men around him were working as fast as they could, but the Doctor's words seemed to urge them on. The Doctor groaned as he continued digging. It was false hope. The Tardis was far below them in the rubble and crumbling cement. How stupid he had been. This was all his fault. The Dalek's had only attacked Monkif because he was there, and he had stupidly brought him and Rose to the planet an entire year after they should have come. Already time had been rewritten and Joy had been born a year after she should have been. Who knew what that teenage girl twelve years in the future was like now. The Doctor could have altered her entire persona. Even those beautiful blue eyes could be changed. It was impossible to know. What he did know was that he had to get to the Tardis door. It was the only thing that could save the little family now. It was the only thing that could save the whole planet, for that matter.

THUNK

The Doctor stopped and dropped to his knees, shoving dirt aside with his hand. Blue. Blue paint. A ridiculous grin spread across the Doctor's mud-streaked face. "Hello, sexy," he whispered. "We've got her!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. In moments, the men had cleared the door away the Doctor kicked down on it. "Poor, girl, knocked on your side," he whispered.

"Who are you talking to, Doctor?" asked one of the men.

"Ah, no one," sniffed the Doctor, rolling his shoulders and wrinkling his nose. "Right, I'll just jump in and get her upright then we can all pile inside. I'll be right back." The Doctor climbed up and lowered himself down, dangling from the side of the door. "Bit tricky this part!" he hollered out through the opening. "Got to make it to the contro….Whoa!" His fingers slipped and he fell, smashing against one of the sloping, tree like beams surrounding the console. "I'm alright!" he yelled up to the group of faces gathered around the opening above him. "Just pull that door shut and I'll fix her up in no time!" One of the men was lowered in by his ankles so he could reach the handle, and then the door to the Tardis was snapped shut, leaving the Doctor alone inside. "Right. To work," he said, quickly patting his hair to make sure it was still in place after his drop.

It took a minute to work himself down so he could get to the controls without dropping to the other side of the room, but he was finally able to switch everything on and set the Tardis upright.

"There!" he grinned, laughing to himself. "Like stealing candy from a baby! Oh, Joy. My baby!" He raced across the room and flung the door open, "Inside, men!" He stopped short. "Men?" But there was no men. All that lay before him was a barren waste land of dust and rocks. There was nothing as far as the eye could see; nothing but a broken sign lying about ten feet away. Though a few letters had faded completely in the sun, the Doctor could still make out the words printed across the front. Both of his heart stopped. What had he done?

 ** _D ctor and ose Plu One_**

¨¨¨ 


	4. Chapter 4

**Short and just a touch of "hello, sweetie". What more could we ask for? Except, perhaps, some fish stick and custard.**

 **...**

"Ha!" said the Doctor, squatting down beside the broken sign. "Our sign! I knew I'd find something."

He glanced over his shoulder.

"It's the stupid sign from the front of our house." he muttered to himself. "Well, it might look like just our stupid sign, dear sweet Rose, but it is actually the main ingredient to the dish that will get us out of this mess. Is it really now, Doctor? Yes, Rose. It is."

The Doctor fell backwards, flat out on the ground, and sighed.  
"Please come back, Rose," he whispered. "I can't keep talking for both of us." He blinked and sighed. "And it is just a stupid sign like you…like I…said. But it's all I have left of you."

He stared at the sky for awhile. Then a little longer. Then some more.

"Can't go back," he said. "Too late. They are already dead. Can't bring them back. I mean…I could. I feel like I've got the fuzziest dream in the back of my head about doing something of the same sort with Gallifrey…with some future self or something. Probably ate something stupid before I slept that night. Bad dream. I dunno. I could save them. No. I don't know."

He sat up and looked around. He knew exactly what had happened. It was absolutely typical of himself to get the time wrong. Instead of righting the Tardis, he had gone forward in time…who knew how far. Obviously long enough for Monkif to be wiped clean of civilization.

He closed his eyes and tried to think. How on earth could he work through the loop holes of time to go back and change all of this? It was getting easier to mess around with fixed points in time…back when he used to wear that leather jacket he wouldn't even have let Rose talk to her own self; but now…he wasn't quite so careful about things.

"I could save them," he said. "But what would it change? I mean…augh! My stupid head won't work! Think, idiot! Think! Normally I'd have this whole thing sorted in a few seconds! What's wrong with my stupid head!"

"Doxinium."

The Doctor jumped, scrambling to his feet and spinning around, his screwdriver held out like a sword.

"That silly little device won't do you any good, Doctor. Not with Doxinium in your veins."

The Doctor spun around, still brandishing his screw driver, his face serious and confused. "Who are you!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"In your box," breathed the voice, a whisper floating on the strands of time.

"I don't have a box," said the Doctor. "I mean…I think I…Tardis. You're in my Tardis box! My Tardis. Of course, the Tardis. What's wrong with my stupid head? I can't think of anything! Something keeps blanking out…hey! I was just talking to someone. I think. I don't remember, though. Where on earth is Rose, anyway?"

"In here, Doctor!" came a woman's voice.

The Doctor turned, stumbling slightly, to face the Tardis. His beautiful Tardis. It seemed so bold in the brown wasteland stretching endlessly around its blue frame. So bold and strong. A solitude and stronghold. Of course Rose was in there. He wouldn't let her out in this barren place.

"I'm coming in, Rose!" he called. He stumbled in through the doors and shut them behind him. "Shall we have tea, then?" he giggled.

A blackness clouded the Doctor's mind and he fell forward…slowly…as if a cloud where lowering him to the ground. A satisfying WHUMPH echoed through the Tardis as he hit the floor surrounding the console and lay still. The Tardis was silent; then, after a few moments, it let out a low groan and its lights grew dim.

"Hello, sweetie," whispered a voice in the back of the Doctor's mind. And then, he slipped into a gentle sleep, dreaming of Rose…and a baby…a tiny baby. A baby named Joy.

 **...**

 **I know it's the shortest update of all eternity...but it was taking me exactly that to update...eternity. So I wanted to give you a little touch more to soak in. Thanks stupendously for the reviews! Really means a lot to read them! See you soon :)**

 **(As usual...please tell me if you see any errors in my timelines or Doctor Who knowledge in general. Obviously most of this is extremely AU, but I mean the basic fundamentals. Thanks for reading!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my gosh I'm becoming a typical Fanfiction writer and not updating my stories! How dare I!**

 **...**

 _Tick tock, goes the clock, the baby once surprised her; tick tock, goes the clock, now River's saved the Doctor._

 **...**

A flash of blue.

The notebook.

She couldn't reach far enough...the book was too far across the desk, and she was already on her tiptoes to reach the open window. Her denim shorts rubbed against the siding of the house, pressing into her thighs. She ignored the slight discomfort.

"Joy!"

She stopped and stepped back, trying to act casual before being discovered.

"Joy!" It rang out again.

"Here!" she called. "I'm coming!"

Curly brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin, and a single dimple in her right cheek; Joy Song raced around the side of the big, white house and found her mother standing on the front porch.

"Yes, Mom?" she asked.

"Come inside, sweetie," smiled River, but it was a strained smile. "We need to talk."

Joy didn't ask questions. She had seen that look on her mother's face before, and knew not to argue.

The mother and daughter went inside the lovely Craftsman style home. It was a beautiful house for a beautiful neighborhood, complete with a spacious front lawn, flowers beds, and a big tree. The back yard was even more enjoyable featuring a swimming pool, fire pit, and barbeque on the corner of a patio. A picture perfect residence for a picture perfect town in Calloway, New York.

"Who is that man?" asked Joy, stepping in the living room. He was on the couch, long legs dangling over the armrest nearest Joy. Converse sneakers, exactly like the ones she was currently wearing, almost touched her leg.

"Who we have to talk about," replied River, sitting in a chair opposite the couch. "Please, sit down, darling."

Joy sat in a chair beside her mother, never taking her eyes off the sleeping man. After all, it was a bit odd to walk into your house and find a stranger sleeping on your couch. His hair was a bit of a crazy mess and his suit coat did anything but match the color of his shirt. Joy liked that.

"This is the Doctor," said River.

"Doctor Who?" asked Joy.

River smiled, "Just the Doctor."

"He's a Time Lord," said Joy.

River shot Joy a confused look. "What?" she said. "Why do you say that?"

Joy smiled at her mother, flipping her long, wavy curls over her right shoulder, "I can feel it. He's a Time Lord, like me. And like you. But he's like me in more ways. I don't know how; I just feel we are similar. Besides, you would never let a man come in and sleep on our couch unless he was an alien you were helping out."

River smiled. Joy had always been quick. Just like her father. "You're right, dear," she said. "He's a Time Lord. A Gallifreyan. Just like you. But not like me. I'm not from Gallifrey."

"I know," said Joy. "You're parents were human. You were conceived in the Tardis; and I can't tell anyone on Earth what we are because it might 'creep them out'. I've only heard it about one hundred times."

"Tell me everything," said River. "The whole story."

"What whole story?" asked Joy, standing up and walking over to the sleeping Doctor.

"Leave him alone, dear," said River. "Your whole story. How we came here."

"That's stupid, why would I tell you that?" asked Joy, stepping from one foot to the other by the Doctor. "Gee, he's got great hair."

"Tell me, Joy," said River. Her tone of voice caused Joy to turn around. She knew River meant business.

"Okay," said Joy, taking her seat again. She pushed the sleeves of her shirt up slightly, letting them rest right below her elbows. "The story. I was born on the planet Monkif, and when I was just a baby, the Dalek's attacked the planet. My father disappeared and my mother took me into the basement of some building to keep me safe. You showed up with a Vortex Manipulator on accident just as the building was collapsing. My mother saw you and gave me to you, begging you to keep me safe. You tried to leave with her, too, but you couldn't reach her before the ceiling collapsed. You had to let her go. Rose. You had to leave Rose. You brought me to Earth to keep me safe. You said too many aliens attack England all the time, so we would live in the States. And you are always reading your blue notebook and searching the Internet and social media for something but you won't tell me what. And now you're making me tell you all of that for no good reason because you already know it."

"But I didn't."

Joy jumped a bit. River just sighed. The two looked across the living room at the couch. The Doctor was sitting up, long legs no longer over the armrest, but his feet resting firmly on the ground, hands on his knees.

"Hello, Doctor," said River.

"Hello," nodded the Doctor. "I'm afraid I haven't met you, yet, though I suspect we have done something fantastic together at some point in time. Just not my time, so far."

River smiled, "Perhaps. I'm River Song."

"How did you get Doxinium into me?" asked the Doctor. "And why did you find it necessary to pump me full of a brain-numbing substance, lure me into my own Tardis, and kidnap me to this terribly boring, typical suburban American home? Wouldn't it have been just as easy to show up and say, 'Oh, hello, there, I have your daughter. Want to come see her?'"

"What!" cried Joy.

"Doctor," hushed River, her eyes telling the Doctor Joy was not aware of their relationship.

"Ohhhhh," said the Doctor. "Whoops. Did I say daughter? I meant..."

"Daughter," said Joy, standing up. "You meant daughter. You're my father. That's why we are both Gallifreyan. You left me and Rose on Monkif. You left us to die."

The words hung between them like paint splattered against the air and staying there, no gravity to pull it down. Thick and dark.

"I'm...sorry," said the Doctor, standing. "I meant to come back. I tried to come back. You have to realize, that was all a few hours ago for me. This morning you were a tiny baby. This morning I had Rose..." He glanced at River. "Is it true? Is she gone?"

River said nothing. She nodded slightly.

The Doctor looked down at Joy, a sad smile pulling up the corner of his mouth. He sighed, a deep, heart wrenching sigh. "Gone," he said. The tears welled up in his eyes, and he didn't fight them. He put his hands on Joy's shoulders and his eyes seemed to look into her very soul. "Gone. My Rose is gone." His tears overcame him and turned to sobs. The Doctor covered his face and sank back onto the couch, his shoulders shaking with sorrow. And just as quickly as he had entered Joy's life, he slid out of it for the time being, lost in his grief for his precious Rose.

River came beside Joy, who was confused and a bit alarmed, and took her hand, "Come with me, dear. It's time you found out who you really are."

...

 **Sometimes, when I write a chapter, I have it completely planned out. Other times, it writes itself as I go along. This was a write-itself-chapter. I love River. She is such a fantastic character. I hope and pray I'm getting her story-line correct. Doctor Who is not an easy Universe to keep straight. Let me know what you think in the comments! Constructive criticism is much welcomed! Goodness knows I need it.**


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